Waking Up To The Married Life: Dawn SummersScott
by bjames238
Summary: Dawn wakes up and finds out she's married to a certain blonde Scott brother. Buffy the Vampire SlayerOne Tree Hill
1. What The

**Chapter One: What The . . .**

Waking Up To The Married Life: Dawn Summers-Scott

This story is a response to SlyLychee's challenge "Waking Up To The Married Life":  
A Scoobie wakes up one morning next to a complete stranger. A stranger that he/she has supposedly been married to for the past two years. Pictures, a home, and the rest of the scoobies all point to a reality that he/she cannot remember, but is obviously true.  
The Scoobie has to learn to get along with his/her new spouse and perhaps even remember the forgotten feelings of love. And what if she wakes up to find out it's all a dream? Or slayer prophecy?  
Requirements:  
- IF the main character is Buffy, the new spouse must know about her slayer status  
- No kids please! (unless they're super cute of course)  
Suggestions:  
- BtVS/Supernatural situation with Buffy and Dean.  
- Highlander/Angel with Cordelia and Methos  
- Charmed/BtVS with Cole and Willow  
- Dark Angel/BtVS with Alec and Dawn  
- Veronica Mars/BtVS with Veronica and Angel

Buffy the Vampire Slayer postS7 x/over w/ One Tree Hill A.U. post S4 Dawn/Lucas Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of its characters.

Chapter One: What The . . .

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. The alarm clock droned on and on and on. Dawn groaned and reached out her hand to turn it off, her eyes still closed. Thankfully, the annoying wake-up call ceased its incessant noise. Dawn rolled onto her side and hugged her pillow, fully intent on going back to sleep.

Suddenly two very manly arms snaked around Dawn's waist, cuddling her close and a man's voice whispered in her ear, "Good morning, baby."

Not knowing who had possibly done this, Dawn furiously kicked her way out of the bed and stood up. In doing this she realized there was a man in her bed, a very attractive man, and all he wore was a pair of purple and blue plaid boxers. He had a very well-toned body, muscles, six-pack abs . . . obviously an athlete. However, none of that matter because . . . Dawn was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be in her bed.

"Dawnie, what's wrong?" the guy said. He had a very caring, concerned voice that only confused Dawn even more. Who was this man and why he was acting as if he knew Dawn? "Honey, did you have a nightmare or something?" He crawled over the bed to the side Dawn was on, stood up and came toward Dawn. Dawn inched backward, entirely terrified of this man and what he might do. Still, he continued toward her.

"Stay away from me!" Dawn shouted as she held her hands up.  
"Dawn, you're scaring me," the man whispered affectionately, concerned.

"I'm scaring you!" Dawn hissed, unable to believe the nerve this guy had, "You know my name, you act as if you know me, and I have no clue as to you are or why you're here."

"Just tell me what's wrong," he said.

"Get out!" Dawn yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Okay, I don't know what you're trying to pull but I'll go, give you some space to chill," the man said, "I'll be at the café."

Dawn ignored all of this, "I said get out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The man nodded, picking up jeans, socks, a shirt, and shoes off the floor and quickly put them on, "I love you." He said before going out the door.

For a while, Dawn did not move from the spot she'd been in. She had no idea how deal or react to the present situation and felt as if she had no one to turn too. Where was her sister Buffy? Where was Giles, her sister's mentor and father figure? Where were Willow and Xander, Buffy's best friends' as well as Dawn's? Where were the other people in Dawn's life: Faith, Robin, and even Andrew?

She looked around the room, still firmly planted to the same spot. It was a bedroom, a fairly large one at that, with dark blue walls and a black ceiling. It was a very elegant bedroom, similar but very different to the ones Dawn had seen on TLC's Trading Spaces or While You Were Out. On the walls were black and silver light sconces with blue candles in them. There were black dressers placed periodically around the room with pictures in frames and knickknacks on top of all of them. Dawn could not see what the pictures were of from where she was standing so instinctively she moved to the nearest dresser to see better.

She was shocked to find that she and the mystery man were in many of the photographs, smiling and acting very much like a serious couple. Dawn's friends and family made several appearances but so did many people Dawn did not know. There was also one small child in particular who seemed to make the most appearances both in a group and individually. But the Dawn from the pictures looked so comfortable with the people that the Dawn of the real world had no recognition of. How was that possible?

Dawn moved on to the next dresser to the left, going away from the bed. In these pictures more of the people Dawn did not know were featured. There was a couple who were seemingly on their wedding day. They were smiling, happy, and content. And also, young. The man had short, black hair and a goofy grin on his face. The woman, noticeably shorter than the man, had long curly brown hair and a necklace with a single opal pearl.

In another picture was two adults and two female children. The woman had medium-length, curly blonde hair and a big smile. The man had long, spiky brown hair and cute elephant-sized ears. The older child had blonde hair and she too, was smiling. The younger child, however, was seemingly in the middle of a fit, pulling her own blonde/brunette streaked hair. The woman was trying to hold on to her and still smile. Dawn chuckled.  
Dawn moved on to the next dresser. This one had blue lace cloth across the top. The pictures, though, were all of the one small child Dawn had noticed before. The child had brunette hair with natural highlights of blonde and couldn't even be a year old. She was so adorable, and oddly familiar. Dawn and the mystery man from before were also in the pictures with this little girl, both separately and together. On one frame, a picture containing just the child had a named engraved in a beautiful gold script below it. 'Emily Anne Scott' the script read. Whose child is this?

Suddenly a loud, horrific noise wailed on from Dawn. She jumped, automatically raising her hand up to her mouth. Turning around, Dawn saw and heard that the origin of the horrible noise was coming from the side table where the mystery man had slept.

It was . . . a baby monitor! The noise was the sound of a crying baby!

Dawn's jaw dropped at least six feet to the ground. What the frijole was going on!? The noise continued on, not lessening or fading but becoming louder and stronger. Dawn rushed over to the side table and pulled the cord for the monitor out of the wall, silencing the deafening noise coming from it.

However, Dawn could still hear the crying. Only this time it was droning loud and clear form outside the room. Dawn raised her eyebrow in confusion, "Huh?"

Curiously she went to the door, opening it. The noise was clearer and Dawn followed it down the hall. Then she came upon a door that was open just a little. Dawn pushed the door and it creaked. The crying was so loud now that Dawn could feel her eardrums vibrate.

She pushed the door open all the way and went in. She saw a room that was completely purple. It was a baby nursery! In the middle of the room was a crib. There was a baby, standing up and hanging on to the railing. It was a little girl, dressed in pink footy pajamas.

"Mumma!" the young child wailed, reaching out her hands. It was the child from the picture, Emily! Wait, 'Mumma'? Dawn looked around. There was nobody in the room beside Dawn and the child. So why had the child directed that word . . . to Dawn? 

TBC


	2. What's Wrong With My Wife?

**Chapter Two: What's Wrong With My Wife?**

Lucas Scott opened the door to the café, the familiar ting of the bell on the top of the door music to his ears. Inside were the customary sounds of the café customers enjoying their meals and chatting about their lives.

Lucas crossed the room to the counter where there was a very familiar woman behind the register giving a man his change. The man left, and Lucas leaned on the counter in front of the woman, "Hey Mom."

"Hello Lucas," Karen Rowe-Scott smiled, "Not that I'm not happy to see my eldest son, but why are you here so early? I thought you had a late game last night."

"I did," Lucas replied, wiping the sleep from his eyes, "Then I was watching Emy sleep for a while and I got 'inspired' so I stayed up even later working on my novel."

"Oh honey," Karen smiled, "Then why don't you go home to bed?" Lucas sighed. "What, did you do something to make that wife of yours angry?"

"I wish I knew," Lucas muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Karen said.

"Oh," Lucas shook his head, "Nothing. I just have to do something. Could I have a cup of coffee, though?"

"Sure," Karen said. She turned around, grabbing a to-go cup and the pot of coffee. As she poured, she said, "Hey, do you think you could watch your little brother tonight? Keith and I have that annual dinner to go too and the babysitter dropped out last minute."

"I don't know, Mom," Lucas said, "Emy hasn't been feeling good and I think Dawn may be catching whatever Emy has." Karen handed him the coffee and he took a sip. "But I guess we could make it work."

"Are you sure?" Karen set the pot back in the coffee maker, "Because if you can't I could ask Nathan. I'm sure Haley and he wouldn't mind."

"I think it would be better if Nate watched him. I don't want our little bro getting sick," Lucas nodded.

Karen chuckled, "Okay then. I'll call him as soon as I have a chance."

"I'll see you later, Mom," Lucas said, pulling some money out of his pocket and placing it on the counter. His mother sighed. She always told him he didn't have to pay because he was family, but he always did anyway. He waved before going out the door.

Lucas sucked down the last of his coffee and rapped his fist on the door. A few seconds later the door opened and a short, perky blonde appeared. Lucas smiled weakly. Lucas could never understand how she could be so perky all the time. "Hey Luke, what's up?"

"Can I come in, Buffy?" Lucas asked of his sister-in-law. Dawn's sister Buffy Summers was very small, short, and blonde. She was strong-willed, brave, and very protective of her family and friends. She was also not stupid. She could see in Luke's eyes that something was wrong.

"Of course," Buffy moved aside to let him in. He crossed the threshold and she closed the door behind him, "What can I do for you?"

"It's Dawn," Lucas sighed.

"What about her?" Buffy raised her eyebrow.

"That's the thing, I don't know," Lucas said.

"Just tell me what happened," Buffy said.

"She woke up this morning and just, I don't know, freaked," Lucas waved his hands in frustration, "She acted as if she didn't know who I was."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, confused.

"When I went to bed last night, she was already asleep. I had a game to coach at the high school. Then this morning I woke up and she was acting weird. She was screaming at me, telling me to get out," Lucas said. Buffy listened intently, not liking what she was hearing, "So I did. I went to the café to get some coffee and came here."

"Where's my niece?" Buffy was curious.

"I left her at the house," Lucas told her, "She wasn't awake yet."

"Lucas, if Dawn was yelling then she probably woke Emily up," Buffy said, "And if Dawn really doesn't know who you are, odds are she doesn't know who her own daughter is!"

"Oh," Lucas frowned, "I never thought of that. I actually thought she was mad at me for something and was just faking it."

"No, I don't think she would," Buffy shook her head, "No matter how mad she was."

"You're the Slayer, you should know," Lucas said. Only Lucas of the nine native Tree Hill people knew the truth about Dawn, Buffy, and their friends 'supernatural' extracurricular activities of their past. Dawn told Lucas about a year after they met, just two months before their wedding. Lucas had overreacted at first, unsure of how to handle it. Over time, though, Lucas had accepted it and respected his wife and her family.

"I was the Slayer, now I'm retired. You know that," she reminded him.

"Whatever," Lucas said, "She really scared me. I've never seen her act that way before."

"I don't think I have either," Buffy said, "Did she mention me at all? Or Willow, or Xander."

Lucas shook his head, "No, she didn't."

"Why don't I go over there and check things out. Make sure Emy's okay," Buffy said.

"I think I'm going to stay here," Lucas suggested.

"Good idea," Buffy nodded, "I'll bring Emy and Dawn here and we'll go from there."

"Thanks," Lucas sighed, "I don't think it's anything major. I just want to make sure."

"Yeah," Buffy said, "Better to be safe than sorry."

TBC


	3. Sisterly Bonding

**Chapter Three: Sisterly Bonding**

"Dawn?" Buffy whispered, opening the Scott's front door with the key she had. So far the house was silent as Buffy tiptoed her way through the spacious living room, "Little sis?"

She poked her head into the kitchen, "Dawn?" The kitchen was empty so Buffy went to the stairs. She climbed the long stairwell, deciding to go to Lucas and Dawn's bedroom first. That's where Lucas said he last saw her, so it only makes sense that that would be where she was. Buffy slipped her denim jacket off and slung it on her arm. She tiptoed down the upstairs hall to her sister's bedroom. The door was partially open and she pushed it, "Dawn are you in here?"

There was no answer as the eldest Summers sister made her way into the room. Dawn wasn't in there. Buffy looked around, seeing if anything was out of the ordinary.

Well, the bed wasn't made but that made sense. If Dawn woke up and freaked out and Lucas left right away, there wouldn't have been anyone to make the bed. All of the pictures frames were as they should be on the dressers. The vanity looked normal: same neat clutter of Dawn's make-up, lotions, and hairbrushes and clips.

The only thing that looked out of place was the baby monitor strewn and tangled on the floor. The cord lay a few feet away from the outlet. Buffy raised her eyebrows and went over to it, picking it up. It wasn't broken, just a little bent. Buffy plugged it into the outlet. The green light lit up indicating it had been on when it had been taken out of the wall.

At first, all Buffy heard was static when she put the monitor up to her ear. Then, very faintly, she could hear the sound of crying. It was too soft to be Emy's voice.

Buffy set the monitor back on the side table and stood up. She dropped her jacket on the bed. She let the room, going down the hall to Emily's nursery. She'd been to her niece's room very often since her birth. The first couple of weeks after Emy had been born, Dawn and Lucas had called their various family members often asking for help. And since Buffy was Dawn's sister, she was the one who was called the most.

Buffy turned the corner and saw that Emy's door was open just a little bit. Buffy opened her eyes wide in confusion and pushed open the door.

There was a screamed and a sobbed "Leave me alone" as Buffy tiptoed into the baby's room. Once inside she saw her little sister, crouched in the corner of the nursery. Her hair was covering her face and her head was buried in her knees. "Please, just leave me alone . . ." Dawn was begging, sobbing. Little Emily was asleep in the crib.

"Dawnie, it's me. It's your sister B—"

"Buffy?" Dawn finished. The younger woman looked up, her eyes red and puffy.  
"Oh, sweetie!" Buffy said sympathetically. She knelt down and held her sister in her arms, "Dawnie, what happened?"

"Buffy, I'm so scared!" Dawn wept, "There was this man, in my bed, when I woke up. I swear he wasn't there when I went to bed last night!"

"What are you talking about?" Buffy said.

"I woke up, and he was just there," Dawn said, "He was just there and I swear, we didn't do anything!"

Buffy started laughing, covering her mouth as not to awaken her niece.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Dawn cried.

"I'm sorry," Buffy took a breath. Dawn sat up, "It's just, you really don't remember him, don't you?"

"If by 'him' you mean the practically naked man in my bed this morning, then yes," Dawn said, "When I went to bed last night, we were in San Diego at the hotel. Sunnydale had just been turned into a giant crater and Spike and Anya just died!"

Buffy exhaled deeply, "Wow. Then I take it you're very confused right now." Dawn nodded anxiously, "Well, Dawn, that was almost seven years ago." Buffy held her breath, waiting for a reaction.

"What!" Dawn shouted, her eyes wide. In her crib, Emily stirred.

"Sssshhh!" Buffy whispered, "You'll wake the baby! Come on, let's go down the hall."

"You have got a lot of explaining to do!" Dawn whispered back. Buffy nodded. They quietly got up. Buffy went over to the crib and reached inside of it. She gently pulled the fleece blanket around the small infant, stroking her cheek. The child's eyes were half open, drowsily staring off into space. Buffy ben her head down and kissed Emy on the forehead, "Sleep tight, Emy, just a little longer." Emily's eyes closed once again and sleep overtook the small child. Buffy smiled affectionately at how adorable her niece was.

Dawn looked on while her sister tended to the unfamiliar small child. In the pictures in the bedroom, Dawn had also seen Buffy with the baby, "Buffy, who is that? Whose is that?"

Buffy stroked the child's temple until she was fully asleep. She turned to her sister and smiled, "Dawn, this . . . this is Emily. She's, well, she's your daughter."

"My d-daug . . ." Dawn's eyes rolled back and she started to fall. Buffy hurried forward quickly and caught her. Dawn shook her head, trying to get rid of the sick feeling that was currently taking residence in her stomach.

"Come on, why don't we got down the hall. You can sit so you don't faint again."

Dawn nodded, gulping, "Sounds like a plan." She took a step forward but her knees gave out again. Thankfully, Buffy was right there and prevent her from collapsing.

They left the room, going back down the hall Dawn had been in earlier, following the cries. Buffy held on to Dawn's arm and the younger sibling was all too glad for it. For without her older sister's support, she would surely (fall). It had always been that way as far back as Dawn could remember. Well, before her memory had stopped working anyway. Buffy was always saving Dawn from something. When dad had been five and Buffy eleven they had gone to the park down the block because their parents had been fighting. Dawn had been on the swing and Buffy was pushing her. They'd stayed there awhile, just laughing and having fun, as if their life was always perfect. Buffy had said something and had really made Dawn upset so she had run away.

Buffy later said she hadn't been looking for very long for her but to Dawn it had felt like an eternity. Short enough as it was, Dawn's short-attention span had kicked in and she'd run somewhere else. By the time Buffy had found her, there was glass embedded in the palm of her hands. Dawn had run off to a different park their parents told them never to go too. She'd accidently cut herself on a piece of glass that had been lying at the end of the slide on the playground. Buffy had taken Dawn home and their parents had stopped fighting long enough to take Dawn to the hospital. In the end, Dawn had gotten stitches and Buffy was grounded for not paying enough attention to her little sister.

Of course, things like had happened multiple times during the years of their childhood. Not that they were technically real memories, of course, since Dawn was what informally referred to as 'the Key.' When she had been fourteen years old, sort of, these mystical monks had turned the key, which had been just a mystical ball of energy, into Dawn and sent her to Buffy for the slayer to protect. Now, Dawn was just a normal human girl. Or rather, a normal human woman.

The two Summers sisters entered the bedroom and Dawn sat down on the bed. Buffy stood a few feet away, crossing her arms. Dawn broke the eerie silence, "H-How old am I?"

Buffy sighed, "You're almost twenty-three."

Dawn's eyes went wide, "Twenty-three?"

Buffy nodded, "It's July, which means your birthday is just a couple of months away."

"And . . . Emma? When's her birthday?" Dawn asked.

"Emily, but we all call her Emy," Buffy said. Dawn looked to the ground, "That's okay. Um, she was born on September third. Just six days before yours."

"Cool," Dawn noted.  
"Yeah, that's pretty much what you said when you went into labor. You were just happy you didn't have her on your birthday," Buffy said.

"And that guy . . ." Dawn said.

"That guy," Buffy said, "Is your husband and Emily's father. His name is Lucas."

"Lucas," Dawn swallowed.

"Lucas Scott," Buffy told her, "Basketball coach at Tree Hill High School, novelist. Loving husband and father." Buffy went over to one of the dressers and picked up a frame. She went back over to Dawn and handed it to her, "This is you guys on the day Emy was born."

Dawn took the picture and looked at it. She was in a hospital bed, in a white gown. In her arms was a small pink bundle with just a tiny face visible. Lucas sat on the bed beside Dawn, one arm around her shoulders and the other atop her hand. Lucas and she were both smiling, "We look so happy."

"You were," Buffy nodded, picking up another frame, "Still arm." The Slayer sat down next to Dawn, holding up the frame in her hand, "This is you, Lucas, and Emy at your niece's ballet just a few weeks ago." Dawn noticed that, again, all three of them were smiling, "You and Lucas are so much in love, Dawn."

Dawn sighed, tears budding in her eyes, "Then why don't I remember? Why don't I feel happy?"

"Dawnie, we'll figure this out," Buffy assured her, "There's got to be a logical explanation for how you could suddenly wake up and forget the last seven years of your life. Whether its natural or supernatural we'll find it."

"And what are we going to do in the meantime?" Dawn said, "I can't raise a kid. As far as I remember I'm only sixteen years old!"

"That's true," Buffy said, "And if I remember correctly you exactly the 'mother-type' when you were sixteen."

"Damn strait!" Dawn nodded.

"I can help you," Buffy said, "Yeah. We'll call Willow and Xander and have an old-fashioned Scooby meeting—plus babysitting! It'll be fun."

"And once we get Giles involved we'll have an answer almost right away."

Buffy frowned, looking at the floor, "Dawn . . ."

"What, does he not live here?" Dawn said.  
Buffy sighed, "No, actually he doesn't . . . in a matter of speaking . . ."

"And that means . . ."

Buffy put both photo frames down on the bed. She took her sister's hands in her own, "Dawnie, I'm so sorry, but . . . Giles is gone. Gone, as in, dead." Dawn gasped, covering her mouth, "I'm so sorry. I wish I could spare you from this pain all over again. It was a while ago, before you and Lucas even met. It tore you apart. You were hurt so much I didn't think anything would help you. Then, out of chance, you met Lucas. He really helped you a lot." Out of the blue, a loud crying erupted in the room, causing Dawn to jump. After a few moments she realized it was coming from the baby monitor again. "Oh, Emy's awake again." Buffy went over to the monitor and shut it off. "I better go get her. She hates being awake alone in the crib for too long." Dawn nodded, still reeling from the news about Giles, and Buffy left.

Dawn picked up the second photo frame Buffy had given her. It was a beautiful ornate black frame with curly silver lines on it. The picture, of course, was of Dawn, Lucas, and . . . oh yeah—Emily. Why was Dawn having the hardest time remembering her own child's name? Anyway, Emy was in Lucas arms on his hip. Dawn stood on the side Emily was not on—with her arm around his waist. And her face . . . there was a smile of happiness Dawn had never felt or seen on herself before. It was so foreign to her.

Could this all be a dream? Would she suddenly wake up at any moment in the hotel room in San Diego and start hysterically laughing out loud?

Or . . .

Was this real? Could it be real? Was Dawn a mother married to a man she'd never met before—or rather a man she didn't remember meeting and was supposedly so much in love with and vice versa?

But if it was real why couldn't she remember? She was pretty sure wives were supposed to remember their husbands and children, unless the movies she'd watched during her romance-movie-phase during her teens were wrong. Then again, this was a long time after she'd been twelve and thirteen years old. So the question remained; what was she going to do? And was she going to believe this was all real?

TBC


	4. Starting From Scratch

**Chapter Four: Starting From Scratch**

Lucas paced back and forth in his sister-in-law's living room. This was not what he was expecting when he woke up this morning. He'd never seen first-hand the "supernatural" things his wife and her family had dealt with over the years. In fact, he hadn't actually believed it until he'd seen how strong Buffy was and how fast she healed. 

Now, with Dawn's . . . . amnesia . . . or whatever it was called Lucas was in completely unchartered territory. He didn't know what to expect or how to react. And, of course, non of his family knew about Dawn or the others so he couldn't confide in them. Though he was in Buffy's house so he could talk to Buffy's husband, Angel. That wouldn't work either because Lucas didn't really know Angel. Angel traveled a lot for work and wasn't really around most of the time. In fact, he was out of town now in . . . Lucas couldn't remember where Dawn had told him. And since Angel was out of town, Buffy was at Dawn and his house, and she hadn't said anything, Lucas assumed that Angel and Buffy's own two daughters were at someone else's house. Probably Willow or Haley or Peyton or Brooke's.

Lucas ran his hands through his hair. He sat down on the lounge chair and took a deep breath. Since meeting Dawn, Lucas had learned to accept a lot. It had taken him a long time to both believe it and get used to the fact that his in-laws weren't exactly the most normal of families. Then again, how could he judge? His mother had had him when she was a senior in high school. His dad left his mom before he was even born to marry another woman he'd also gotten pregnant. Seventeen years later Lucas and his half-brother Nathan were on the same basketball team in the same high school. Their lives essentially collided. Lucas's best friend Haley James married Nathan. Lucas dated first Nathan's ex-girlfriend Peyton Sawyer then Peyton's best friend Brooke Davis. While Lucas was with Brooke, Peyton started dating a single teen father named Jake Jageilski. Then Jake left only to come back and then leave again. Then on the eve of Nathan and Haley's second vow-renewal wedding, Peyton left to go to Jake only to come back engaged. Not long after the wedding, they all found out that Haley was pregnant. 

During their senior year things had pretty much fallen apart for Brooke and Lucas when a shooting by one of Lucas's old friends happened. Brooke hadn't been in the school at the time (thank god) but Peyton had. A stray bullet had pierced Peyton's leg and she'd been forced to hide. Lucas had found her and gotten her out safely before Jimmy could find them. Luke's uncle Keith had almost died when he'd gone in to try to talk Jimmy out of it. Jimmy had shot first Keith and then himself. Jimmy died but Keith was taken to the hospital and was fine. Peyton, too, had gotten the care she'd needed and survived. Lucas, though, had been severely emotionally scarred by the ordeal and unfortunately during that time began to grow distant and cold to Brooke. He hadn't mean it, honestly, but he couldn't help it. A month before graduation they broke up. They were still friends, but decided not to be romantically involved anymore. After graduation they'd all went their separate ways. Brooke, to New York, to study fashion. Peyton, back to Georgia, to be with her fiancé and go to art school. Nathan and Haley (plus baby Michael who'd been born the night of graduation) went off to Duke University. And Lucas; he stayed at Tree Hill Community College so he could help his mom and uncle Keith with his new little brother Christopher (born just five months after Michael) and study literature and coaching. Second semester of his senior year of college he'd met Dawn, and the rest was history.  
"Honey, I'm home!" Lucas looked up as Buffy's husband Angel walked in the room, a briefcase in his hands. Upon seeing Lucas, Angel said, "Well, you're not my wife."

"Guess not," Lucas shrugged.

"Do you know where Buffy is?" Angel asked.

Lucas sighed, "My house." Angel raised his eyebrow, "Dawn's acting strange so Buffy went to go calm her down."

"Oh, okay," Angel said. He set down his briefcase and took off his suit jacket, "So. How's everything with you? How's Emy?"

"Great," Lucas nodded, "Emy's so awesome and she's growing up so fast."

"That's the way it is," Angel shrugged, "My Julie's almost five already. Next year she starts kindergarten. And Joy is daddy's little girl."

"I know," Lucas said, "It seems to me like just yesterday when I came home from an away game and Dawn told me we were having a baby." Lucas smiled.

Angel chuckled, "It's still hard for me to imagine little Dawnie as a mother. I've known her since she was about seven years old."

Lucas nodded in understanding, "That's just like Hales. I've known her since we were bother in diapers. I never would have imagined her as a wife or mother."

"I'm back!" The front door opened again. Buffy appeared with Emy on her hip and Dawn following behind her. On her shoulders, Dawn carried a diaper bag.

"Hey honey," Angel went up to his wife and kissed her, "Missed you."

"Missed you too," Buffy kissed him back, "Do you think you could go pick Julie up form preschool for me and take her to karate class? I have some stuff to deal with here."

"Anything for you," Angel kissed her again. He tickled Emy, kissing the top of her head, "Bye-bye Emy. Don't give your parents or aunt Buffy too much trouble, okay?" The little girl giggled at her uncle. He kissed Buffy again, "Bye baby." He turned back to Dawn, who was now awkwardly standing in front of Lucas, "See you guys later. We'll figure this out eventually." Lucas nodded weakly. "Bye Dawn."

"Angel," Dawn acknowledged solemnly. Angel kissed Buffy one more time before grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

Lucas looked at Buffy, "By the way, where's your other daughter?"  
Dawn's head snapped to her sisters direction. Buffy blushed, rocking Emy up and down, "Joy is at Spike and Brooke's for the day." Lucas nodded.

"Wait, Spike and who?" Dawn said, "You have two daughters? And what the hell is Angel doing here? I though Spike was dead!"

Buffy sighed, handing Emy over to her father. She went up to her sister and took the diaper bag, setting it on the armchair. Leading Dawn over to the couch, the two of them sat down. She looked to Lucas, who nodded in understanding from Buffy's look. He left the room towards the kitchen with Emy.

"Well?" Dawn was waiting.

"Dawn," Buffy said, "About a year after Sunnydale disappeared and we all got to San Diego, we got word that Angel and his people were in a huge battle against some really bad demons. We all went to help them. Of the three of Angel's people who were with him, just one survived besides Angel. That other one was Spike."

"But Spike died in Sunnydale with Anya and the others," Dawn said.

"That's not exactly what happened," Buffy explained, "Long story short, the bad demons who were after them brought Spike back. The rest is a story for another time."

"That still doesn't explain how Angel's human or that you have kids," Dawn said.

"After we won the battle, Angel and Spike were made human by the Powers That Be. Shortly after, Angel and I were married. Not long after our wedding I found out we were having a baby. We had a daughter we named Julie Rose. And, since Angel took my last name when we married, Julie also has Summers as her last name. A few years later, we had Melinda Joy Summers, but just call her Joy for short."

"Oh," Dawn said, taking all this in, "Now, who's this 'Brooke'?" 

"I can answer that," Lucas came in the room, Emy on his hip, "She's my ex-girlfriend."

"I'll give you two some time to chat," Buffy went over and took Emy from Lucas, "Come on Emy, let's go play with some of your cousin Joy's toys." 

When Buffy and Emy were gone upstairs, Lucas cleared his throat uncomfortably. Dawn shifted in her seat, looking down at her folded hands. Lucas went over by her and sat down on the couch beside her. She moved farther away from him, pushing the hair behind her ears.

"So . . ." Dawn started.

"So . . ." Lucas repeated, "Did Buffy tell you who I am?"

"Yeah," Dawn nodded, "She told me some things."  
"Listen, I'm sorry about this morning," Lucas said, "I didn't mean to freak out on you."

"It's fine," Dawn said, "You didn't know what was going on."

"I'm still sorry," Lucas said, "And I should've taken Emily with me."

"It's fine," Dawn repeated, "So, ah, you were gonna tell me about this Brooke."

"Right," Lucas nodded, "She was my girlfriend in high school for about two years. We broke up a month before graduation."

"Oh," Dawn said.

"We ended on good terms so it was okay," Lucas said, "Then I went off to college and didn't really date anyone . But the middle of my freshman year of college I met you. You were so sad from the death of the man you called your 'adopted father'. I helped you through it and fell in love with you. A year later we were married. That was about two years ago. Now we have an eleven-month-old daughter named—"

"Emily Anne Scott," Dawn cut him off.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded, "How'd you know?"

"I saw the picture with the engraved name in your-our . . . bedroom," Dawn tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath.

"Oh," Lucas said.

"She's adorable," Dawn said quietly.

"She looks just like you," Lucas smiled. Dawn blushed, "When she was born you told me she looked exactly the way your mother did when she was born."

"That explains that," Dawn said.

"What?" Lucas said.

"When I first–when I first saw her she looked so familiar," Dawn said, "Now that you mentioned it, she does look like my mother." Dawn looked up at Lucas, "Were we—are we happy?

Lucas's eyes met hers, "Very."

TBC


	5. Down To Business

Chapter Five: Down To Business

Note: The sections in between the are Dawn's dreams. There will be more in the chapters to come.

Three of the Scooby Gang (Buffy, Angel, and Spike) plus Lucas gathered around Buffy and Angel's living room. They were still waiting on Willow and Xander. The only kid there was Emily and she was upstairs in her cousin Joy's room sleeping. Julie was at karate class. Joy was still with Brooke at her and Spike's house. Brooke and Spike were married but did not have any children yet. Willow and Xander were married and expecting their first child in only two and a half months. Dawn was upstairs asleep in Buffy and Angel's room.

The four of them (plus Willow and Xander who were still on their way) were trying to figure out what could be wrong with Dawn. Unfortunately, they weren't having much luck coming up with ideas.

"Do any of you have any ideas what could be wrong?" Lucas was getting very frustrated. They had been sitting her for over an hour just brainstorming.

Buffy, Angel, and Spike shook their heads, "I've never seen anything like this before," Angel said, "Just Cordy but that was a different situation. Last time I checked, Dawn wasn't taken to a higher plane to become a higher being and then popped back down a couple of months later with no memory."

"Yeah, I really don't think that applies to this situation," Buffy said.

"No," Angel agreed. Lucas nodded.

"So . . ." Spike said.

"We're here!" the front door opened, revealing a one-eyed Xander with Willow coming through the door. Willow's hair was very long and an even brighter red than she'd ever had it over the years.

As the two came in, Buffy put her finger against her lips, "Ssssh! Dawn and Emily are asleep upstairs!"

"Sorry!" Willow whispered, her hand over her seven-and-a-half month belly. Xander his hand on his wife's back.

"Sorry we're late," Xander whispered as they hung their jackets and came into the living room, "Traffic was insane."

"It's fine," Buffy said, "Come, sit, make yourself at home."

"Don't mind if we do," Xander smiled, his hand still on Willow's back. They sat down side by side on the couch next to Lucas. "So, what are we talking about? What did we miss?"

"Not much," Lucas sighed.

"I filled you in on the phone so you should pretty much be up to speed," Buffy said.

Willow nodded sadly, "It's just like an old-fashioned Scooby meeting. Only not . . . cause we all have kids on our minds and . . . there's no Giles." Buffy put her hand on top of her husbands. Xander nodded sadly too. Spike, too, acknowledged the moment by staring down at the ground.

"So . . . let's get this Scooby meeting started," Buffy said, "For Dawn."

The group nodded, "For Dawn." They all spoke in unison. In agreement.

Meanwhile upstairs Dawn lay on the bed not sleeping. The truth was she didn't want to go to sleep for the simple fact that she didn't know how or when she'd wake up. She didn't want to got through the uncertainty and feeling lost again. And even though right now where she wasn't good, it was better than starting over again.

Nope, she'd stay awake as long as she could. No matter how tired she was . . .

. . . However fatigue and exhaustion overruled and the younger Summers drifted into a deep sleep . . .

. . . And as she slept, she dreamed . . .

Dawn bent over, her cow-oven-mitted hands reaching into the hot oven. The heat washed over her face and she blinked. The mitts grabbed onto the hot tin. She was just about to pick it up when she felt arms snake around her waist . . .

"Hello, gorgeous . . ."

Dawn smiled, letting herself melt in his arms. She stood up and set the tin on the counter. Turning around she faced the other person. She smiled seductively, "Hey handsome." She wrapped her own arms around his, "Your wife know you're here?"

He smiled, chuckling and shaking his head, "Nope."

"Shame-y, shame-y," Dawn teased, "Whatever do you think she'll do to you?"

"Oh, I imagine something awfully painful," Lucas played along, "Perhaps I should leave . . ."

Dawn raised her eyebrows, "Or we could just start the punishment early . . ." She kissed the wedding band on his fingers, "Pick your poison . . ." He growled playfully, kissing her lips. She giggled through his lips.

He picked up her hand, kissing the wedding band on her finger, "Come, my beautiful bride . . ." Dawn giggled again, following him up the stairs . . .

"Aaaahhh!" Dawn awoke with a start, sitting up. Remembering what Buffy and Angel's bedroom was like, she reached over to grab the glass of water Buffy had brought her and put on the nightstand next to the bed. Then she heard a crash . . . "What the . . ." She must have knocked over the glass. She turned her head, opening her eyes for the first time since awakening--

But when she opened her eyes she received a new surprise . . . she was back in the motel in San Diego!! And she was willing to bet it was 2003 again.

What the hell was going on?

TBC


End file.
